ROCHESTER — Zach Poisson felt the pressure, buckled for a second and then regained his composure. His Rochester Post 7 team led Nashua 4-3 in the winner-take-all game of the Senior American Legion state baseball championship, and the situation in the bottom of the eighth inning was dire to say the least.

Runners were on first and second with one out and a 3-0 count on Chaz DeWitt. Compounding the situation, home plate umpire had just warned Poisson for questioning a call, prompting Post 7 coach B.J. Gagnon to come out for a visit.

“I told him he needed to get his emotions together,” Gagnon said. “Throw a strike and then induce a ground ball for a double play. We got the next best thing.”

Poisson threw a strike to get the count to 3-1 and then DeWitt lined the ball to second baseman Michael Bellio who caught the ball and quickly flipped it to shortstop Luke Roberts to double off Jon McQuarrie to end the inning.

“That was huge,” Roberts said. “The guy hit the ball hard and I tensed up. I thought it was going to be through. I was a little nervous. I saw Bellio had it, I sprinted over there and the rest is history.”

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Whaley/Democrat photo
Post 7's Luke Roberts and Zach Poisson douse coach B.J. Gagnon with the old bucket of water after Tuesday's championship win in the Senior American Legion state tournament in Concord.

It was the play of the game, helping Post 7 (5-1) preserve its lead and win the state title, 4-3, its first since 1990.

Nashua’s Eric Damphouse reached on a one-out infield hit in the bottom of the ninth, moved to second on a ground out, but was left there when Poisson whiffed No. 3 hitter Nick Reed.

“We were hoping to have the lead late and give the ball to him,” Gagnon said of Poisson. “He worked a lot this week. He worked Sunday, Monday and earlier today. Four appearances in three days is the max. He did the absolute max right there.”

“I had to get that second guy and the third guy was huge,” Poisson said. “I really couldn’t feel my arm at that point. I was thinking strikeout. I’ve got to get him. I thought I had him on the pitch before. I think it was a little inside and I got him on that last one. It felt unbelievable.”

It was Post 7’s second game of the day, coming on the heels of a 6-3 win over Laconia to set up the championship match with Nashua, the only team to beat them in the tournament (4-2 Sunday morning). Nashua finished at 3-2.

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Whaley/Demcorat photo
Post 7's Mac Struthers, left, and Mark Leahy celebrate a 6-3 win over Laconia on Tuesday at the Senior American Legion state tournament in Concord. Rochester then won the title later on that night over Nashua, 4-3.

Rochester jumped out to a 4-0 lead through six and a half innings, riding the surprisingly effective pitching of Roberts, who made his first Legion start ever for the depleted Post 7 pitching staff. He had a no-hitter through four and a one-hitter through six. It all unraveled in the seventh.

“I wanted it,” Roberts said. “I felt good. I went out there and threw strikes and the boys made a lot of good plays behind me, a lot of good plays. They really helped me out.”

Jason Ferlan singled and after an out DeWitt walked. A wild pitch moved the runners up a base and Matt Morais’ sacrifice fly to center made it 4-1.

Damphouse walked and Mike Habibi followed with an RBI single off the tiring Roberts. He was lifted in favor of Poisson.

Reed greeted Poisson with a run-scoring base hit to right to cut the once comfortable lead to one. A strikeout ended the inning.

Rochester built a 4-0 lead with some clutch hitting and some help from Nashua.

In the first, Roberts (3 for 4, run) doubled to left and moved to third when the ball was bobbled by the fielder. He scored on a sacrifice fly by tournament MVP Alex Gray.

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Whaley/Democrat photo
Post 7 second baseman Michael Bellio has a grounder roll up his arm during the Senior American Legion state tournament in Concord. Bellio made the play and Rochester went on to win its first state title since 1990.

In the third, Mac Struthers led off with a double to left, scoring on Bellio’s base hit. Struthers, who had a double and run scored in the first game, was only playing because regular third baseman Andrew Langdon could not make the final day of the tournament.

In the top of the seventh, Mark Leahy blooped a single into left. Josh Gagne bunted him to second and he scored from there on Struther’s base hit to center. Bellio’s potential double play grounder forced out Struthers at second base, but the relay throw to first was wild and Bellio advanced to second. Zach Miller’s single to right plated Bellio to make it 4-0.

“They had a couple hits early and we made a few mistakes in a game that ended up being costly to us,” said Nashua coach Kevin Palanski. “Us getting picked off in the eighth inning was a key play for them. That’s what really hurt us. This game, that’s what it boiled down to is mistakes and we made mental mistakes that cost us.”

Rochester played well defensively, receiving a spectacular catch each from its outfield of Miller, Justin Jewell and Anthony DiPrizio.

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Rochester won the first game, 6-3, behind the pitching of Kramer, the tournament’s most outstanding pitcher. He went 2-0 with a save.

He allowed one run through seven innings, a leadoff home run by Ryder Arsenault — the only homer of the entire tournament. He was tough from there until giving up two runs in the eighth.

Jewell went 2 for 5 with two RBIs and a run, while Leahy was 2 for 4 with two runs and an RBI. Bellio was 2 for 4 with an RBI. Miller drew three walks and scored a run.